Spring 2015 Update: Conditions of the Northeast Shelf Ecosystem

Fall Bloom Development on the Northeast Shelf

There were well developed fall blooms detected in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank areas, though these blooms started later in the year than typical fall blooms and were of short duration (see figures).

Bloom chlorophyll levels on Georges Bank were well above the climatological levels in excess of 3.5 mg m-3 for over two weeks.

The Scotian Shelf subregion, which typically has a fall bloom, had a highly variable pattern of chlorophyll concentrations.

A distinct fall bloom is not typical of the Middle Atlantic Bight area, but a peak in chlorophyll can be seen in the data despite a failure to detect a bloom; this was also the case for the composite depiction of the bloom pattern for the Northeast Shelf.